Emergency calls originating from landline and cellular phones are configured to be automatically routed to public safety answering points (PSAP). Each emergency call may include information that enables determining a location of the caller, and the number of the caller. In the case of cellular phones, carrier information may be provided.
The PSAP may correspond to a primary emergency response center capable of coordinating an emergency response, such as a local police department in a town. PSAPs may also correspond to secondary emergency response centers, such as state highway patrol departments. In some instance, these PSAPs may not be prepared to coordinate an emergency response. Rather, the secondary emergency response center may route an emergency call to a primary response center.
A PSAP responding to an emergency call may gather additional information associated with the emergency call, such as the amount of time the caller waited for personnel to answer the call, a number of rings, whether the caller abandoned the call. Other information, such as whether the call was transferred to a primary emergency response center, may be gathered.
One problem with this arrangement, however, is that the information from the various PSAPs is not consistent between PSAPs, which makes determining trends associated with emergency calls difficult. Moreover, no common method for gaining access to the information exists. Therefore, determining emergency call information at, for example, a statewide level is difficult, if not impossible.
As noted above, a cellular telephone tower may or may not be routed to primary response centers. In many instances, a cellular tower is configured to route emergency calls to a secondary emergency response center. In other cases, the cellular tower is configured according to empirical data that indicates an optimal primary emergency response center that will more effectively serve as a PSAP for emergency calls communicated via the cellular tower. Cellular towers routed based on empirical data to primary emergency response centers are hereinafter referred to as RED sectors as they are routed based on empirical data.
In emergency situations where every second counts, the configuration of a cellular tower can mean the difference between life and death. For example, it is well established that an individual suffering from a cardiac arrest only has about six minutes to survive. As such, the survival rate of such an individual depends in part on a responsiveness of emergency personnel. The responsiveness of emergency personnel in part turns on an amount of time taken to route an emergency call to a primary emergency response center. Emergency calls routed through non-RED sector cellular towers (i.e., cellular towers routed to secondary emergency centers) will take longer to reach appropriate emergency personnel than those routed through RED sector-type cellular towers.